Signals, Calls, and Marches is the first EP

Extended play

An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...

 by Boston-based band Mission of Burma

Mission of Burma

Mission of Burma is an American post-punk band formed in Boston, Massachusetts in 1979. The band was formed by Roger Miller , Clint Conley , Peter Prescott and Martin Swope...

, released in 1981 (see 1981 in music

1981 in music

See also:* Timeline of musical eventsThis is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1981.-January–April:*January 10 – A revival of the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta The Pirates of Penzance opens at Broadway's Uris Theatre, starring Linda Ronstadt and Rex Smith.*January 24 –...

). For the CD

Compact Disc

The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...

 issue, Rykodisc

Rykodisc

Rykodisc Records is an American record label. It is owned by Warner Music Group, operates as a unit of WMG's Independent Label Group and is distributed through Alternative Distribution Alliance.-Company history:...

 remastered the six original songs and added the two tracks from the band's 1980 debut 7" single

Single (music)

In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...

, "Academy Fight Song." The EP was remastered by Matador Records

Matador Records

Matador Records is an independent record label, with a roster of indie rock artists and bands.-History:Matador was started by Chris Lombardi in 1989 in his New York City apartment. The following year, Lombardi was joined by former Homestead Records manager Gerard Cosloy, and the two of them have...

 in 2008 with video material and extra tracks.

The EP has a notable "cleaned-up" sound, which is quite different from the band's more intense subsequent recordings and live performances. Guitarist Roger Miller

Roger Miller (rock musician)

Roger Miller is an American singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist best known for co-founding the groups Mission of Burma and Alloy Orchestra.His main instruments are guitar and piano...

 has noted that the sound probably helped the band become more accessible, recalling:

We played a show in Cleveland ('81 or '82) and we were on the street in front of the club. A girl came up to us and said how much she was looking forward to the show, and that she loved "[That's When I Reach for My] Revolver." We thought we were golden. However, once we started playing, people backed up against the wall and after the first song did not applaud or respond to us one bit, even after we started heckling them. Even when we played Revolver. So, it is quite probably true that the "mild-mannered" recording we made on Signals reached more people than if we recorded it in a more furious or noisy fashion.

Original track listing

1. "That's When I Reach for My Revolver
   That's When I Reach for My Revolver
   "That's When I Reach for My Revolver" is a song by Mission of Burma that was written and sung by band member Clint Conley. It appears on their 1981 EP Signals, Calls and Marches. The Chicago punk band Pegboy covered the song on their 1994 album Earwig, shortening the title to "Revolver." It was...
   
   " (Clint Conley
   Clint Conley
   Clinton J. Conley is an American rock and roll musician from Boston, Massachusetts.He is probably best known as a co-founder of Mission of Burma. He played bass guitar, occasional guitar, and wrote and sang some of the group's best-known songs, such as "That's When I Reach For My Revolver" and...
   
   ) – 3:53
2. "Outlaw" (Roger Miller
   Roger Miller (rock musician)
   Roger Miller is an American singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist best known for co-founding the groups Mission of Burma and Alloy Orchestra.His main instruments are guitar and piano...
   
   ) – 2:33
3. "Fame and Fortune" (Miller) – 3:35
4. "This Is Not a Photograph" (Miller) – 1:53
5. "Red" (Miller) – 3:37
6. "All World Cowboy Romance" (Conley, Miller) – 5:13

1997 Rykodisc bonus tracks

7. "Academy Fight Song" (Conley) – 3:09
8. "Max Ernst" (Miller) – 3:04

2008 Matador Records track listing

1. "Academy Fight Song" (Conley) (bonus track) – 3:09
2. "Max Ernst" (Miller) (bonus track) – 3:00
3. "Devotion" (Conley) (bonus track) – 3:41
4. "Execution" (Miller) (bonus track) – 2:21
5. "That's When I Reach for My Revolver
   That's When I Reach for My Revolver
   "That's When I Reach for My Revolver" is a song by Mission of Burma that was written and sung by band member Clint Conley. It appears on their 1981 EP Signals, Calls and Marches. The Chicago punk band Pegboy covered the song on their 1994 album Earwig, shortening the title to "Revolver." It was...
   
   " (Conley) – 3:53
6. "Outlaw" (Miller) – 2:34
7. "Fame and Fortune" (Miller) – 3:35
8. "This Is Not a Photograph" (Miller) – 1:57
9. "Red" (Miller) – 3:38
10. "All World Cowboy Romance" (Conley, Miller) – 5:12

2008 DVD

Includes two concerts recorded at The Space in 1979 and The Underground in 1980):

1. "This Is Not a Photograph" (The Underground, 1980)
2. "Secrets" (The Space, 1979)
3. "Devotion" (The Underground, 1980)
4. "Manic Incarnation" (The Underground, 1980)
5. "Eyes of Men" (The Underground, 1980)
6. "Tremolo" (The Underground, 1980)
7. "Break on Through" (The Space, 1979)
8. "Head Over Head" (The Underground, 1980)
9. "Peking Spring" (The Space, 1979)
10. "OK/No Way" (The Underground, 1980)

Personnel

• Martin Swope
  Martin Swope
  Martin Swope was the tape manipulator and sound engineer for the Boston-based postpunk band Mission of Burma from 1979–1983, when they split up due to lead vocalist/guitarist Roger Miller's problem with the hearing disorder tinnitus...
  
   – loops
  Tape loop
  In music, tape loops are loops of prerecorded magnetic tape used to create repetitive, rhythmic musical patterns or dense layers of sound. Contemporary composers such as Steve Reich and Karlheinz Stockhausen used tape loops to create phase patterns and rhythms...
  
  , percussion
  Percussion instrument
  A percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
  
  
• Clint Conley
  Clint Conley
  Clinton J. Conley is an American rock and roll musician from Boston, Massachusetts.He is probably best known as a co-founder of Mission of Burma. He played bass guitar, occasional guitar, and wrote and sang some of the group's best-known songs, such as "That's When I Reach For My Revolver" and...
  
   – bass
  Bass guitar
  The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
  
  , vocals
  Singing
  Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
  
  , percussion
• Roger Miller
  Roger Miller (rock musician)
  Roger Miller is an American singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist best known for co-founding the groups Mission of Burma and Alloy Orchestra.His main instruments are guitar and piano...
  
   – guitar
  Guitar
  The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
  
  , vocals, piano
  Piano
  The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
  
  , trumpet
  Trumpet
  The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
  
  , percussion
• Peter Prescott
  Peter Prescott (American musician)
  Peter Prescott is a musician from Boston, Massachusetts.He is best known as the drummer for Mission of Burma. After Burma disbanded in 1983, Prescott remained active in the Boston music scene, forming Volcano Suns and later Kustomized and The Peer Group...
  
   – drums
  Drum kit
  A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
  
  , vocals, percussion